Singing the praises of my foam roller

[C. Beth Run.]

Ha ha TJ, yeah, the rolling

Ha ha TJ, yeah, the rolling pin is sort of the masochistic way to do it. But it really is normal for it to hurt at first. I'd say to start with once or twice a day, but once you really get loosened up you can probably just do it a couple of times a week. Lately I've been finding it helpful to roll before AND after my runs.

Willie--That's a GREAT idea! The PVC will really hold up and if you have to replace the foam, that's cheap.

 

[zapmamak]

TJ - my rolling pin is hard

TJ - my rolling pin is hard wood. No foam. I guess we're tough chicks. Saw the Treco Blog that Angie Bee sent me. Wow! I have to say I was impressed and surprised at how much it could help. I'm giving it a try. Check out the vid...

 

[Barefoot TJ]

Wow, Zap!  That's

Wow, Zap! That's remarkable. Scott Hadley actually claims you can be a stonger, faster runner by using this technique. I can't wait to find out once I can run again. Thanks for sharing that here.

 

[swedishpimple]

Nice video demonstration Zap.

Nice video demonstration Zap. Good find.

S. Pimp.

 

[zapmamak]

Yeah. I'm not a doc, nor do I

Yeah. I'm not a doc, nor do I play one on TV (hee hee) but it makes a lot of sense. Its easy to understand when he explains it in terms of the "chain" where each muscle group needs to be able to do its job in order not to cause undue stress on the other joints and muscles. And if it doesn't work, then its still a cool party trick. 8)

 

[Longboard]

The last time I took a

The last time I took a rolling pin to my body was decades ago, having a girlfriend roll it up and down my spine.

I always liked hard massage, none of that wimpy fingertip stuff for me.

I used to massage my inner calves by hand, and even took a ball pean hammer to them when they really felt like they needed it. Used to have my wife or daughter walk on my back regularly.

Today thanks to this thread for the first time ever I used the real wood rolling pin on my inner calves, outer calves, and soleus area. I'm hooked!

Where can I get one of those mouth controllers for the keyboard so that I can keep both hands on the rolling pin?

 

[C. Beth Run.]

Really glad it's working for

Really glad it's working for you, Longboard! As for the mouth control for the keyboard, I prefer direct mind control. It's so 22nd century of me, don't you think?

I credit the foam roller with helping me past the Achilles/calf issues I was complaining about last week. I think I'm getting past those aches a lot faster than I would have without it. And I think that massaging my soles with golf balls (or whatever other little balls I can find laying around) is helping hugely with some arch cramps I was getting.

Really, without these ways to work out the aches and pains, I don't know if I'd still be running...especially with the IT band stuff. Thank God my friend introduced me to foam rolling; otherwise I'm afraid I would have really injured something, or would have thought I just wasn't made for running.

 

[zapmamak]

Hahaha! Yeah. I like my

Hahaha! Yeah. I like my hardwood rolling pin, but I'd much prefer a personal masseur, preferably one with a nice body. Oh! Did I say that? hee hee.

 

[paraganek]

zapmamak wrote:TJ - my

TJ - my rolling pin is hard wood. No foam. I guess we're tough chicks. Saw the Treco Blog that Angie Bee sent me. Wow! I have to say I was impressed and surprised at how much it could help. I'm giving it a try. Check out the vid...

That's AMAZING :shock:

Can not wait to try it out before my next run.

I have been having problems with my calves tighteness in the past two months running BF trying massaging, stretching, warming up with little effect so hopefully this will help :smile:



Thanks for sharing C.Beth and Zapmamak

 

[C. Beth Run.]

paraganek wrote:Can not wait

Can not wait to try it out before my next run.

Be sure to report back, paraganek!

 

[C. Beth Run.]

Whoa, just watched that

Whoa, just watched that video--amazing! Thanks, Zapmamak, for sharing!

 

[zapmamak]

Glad you guys can benefit

Glad you guys can benefit from the info. I've always had tight calves and quads and had a sports therapist tell me this is what I should be doing, but didn't know why. The info on Scott's blog was a great find.

 

[Blind Boy]

I have to get a foam roller.

I have to get a foam roller. I'm too much of a wuss to use a rolling pin. I've tried it a few times but my calves are so tight I almost start to cry every single time...

 

[C. Beth Run.]

Blind Boy wrote:I have to get

I have to get a foam roller. I'm too much of a wuss to use a rolling pin. I've tried it a few times but my calves are so tight I almost start to cry every single time...

Blind Boy, I was not exagerrating when I said that I had natural childbirth flashbacks when I first used my foam roller on my incredibly tight quads. I believe there was a bit of crying involved too. Honestly, if you're that tight a foam roller will hurt too. But push through it--the pain is alleviated pretty quickly as you get loosened up. With my quads, it was only REALLY painful the first 3 times or so.

 

[DavidP]

Longboard wrote:Went to a

Went to a chain sports bar with the guys after work last night.

Before the burgers the talk around the table was college football.

Afterwards it was all NFL.

I sat there silent the entire time with my eyes glazed over.

Just a nerd, that's all.

LOL! I totally identify with that! I would have been absolutely clueless! Last year I had just started a new job a few months earlier and there was a lengthy conversation about baseball going on. My boss looked at me at one point and said "you don't follow baseball, do you?". I replied, "I have absolutely no clue... but I still like girls!". My coworkers still bring that up if I happen to walk into a sports conversation. The closest thing I've ever owned in my adult life that could be related even remotely to a sports team was when I was on campus the first weekend of grad school and bought my first of several "DUKE NURSING" shirts.

 

[Barefoot TJ]

That's a good idea too

That's a good idea too paraganek. I saw someone standing on a piece of PVC plastic pipe for plantar fasciitis on a video last night, and that might even work well for loosening up the calves just like the "Stick" would do.

 

[SaraLord]

It's cool to hear people

It's cool to hear people talking about using rolling pins - I grabbed mine last week and it made a real difference. We are traveling right now so no foam roller or rolling pin available - my husband's travel can of shaving cream does the job.

Barefoot runners have to make their own tools!

 

[paraganek]

Just an idea, works great for

Just an idea, works great for me, no extra cost